Friday, May 12, 2017

There is not one single best teaching method for everyone in all contexts. Comment.

Most classrooms are heterogeneous, which means that they have a diverse group of students in them.  In a diverse group, people will be coming from different backgrounds and experiences and will not learn the same way.  Most classrooms will have people with different first languages and different competencies with the subject, as well as different levels of maturity and different intelligence levels.  For this reason, you need to differentiate lessons, or create slightly alternate versions for different groups.
It is important to remember that people have other reasons that they might need different approaches to a subject.  Teachers should try to get to know students as best they can.  A teacher who differentiates a lesson should consider how to group students into categories, because you cannot really individualize for everyone.  As much as you would want to, it is not practical. 
One way to make sure that students’ diverse needs are met is to scaffold, which means to front-load the lesson by providing students with background vocabulary and information.  You can also include pictures or video to help the students who have no experience with the subject.  This puts everyone on a more even playing field and makes the lesson easier.
When differentiating a lesson, you want to create options for students or put them in different groups or with different assignments, based on their needs.  These options mean that everyone can learn the content in his or her best way, according to his or her needs.  You decide the categories based on knowledge of students and assessment of the specific skills.  Groups should be fluid, changing as needed based on new assessment data.
https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/what-differentiated-instruction/

No comments:

Post a Comment

Why is the fact that the Americans are helping the Russians important?

In the late author Tom Clancy’s first novel, The Hunt for Red October, the assistance rendered to the Russians by the United States is impor...